Why England CAN win the Euro's

Before the Euro's started, no one gave England a chance. Expectations were extremely low, and it seemed as if England would bow out at the group stages in unconvincing fashion. Despite only being under the guidance of boss Roy Hodgson for just over a month prior to the tournament, Roy has managed to create a well drilled unit, who make up a lack of skill with extreme amounts of determination and effort. With England comfortably finishing top of their group, with a convincing 3 point margin over France, there is definitely signs that this England team can go far. This is a new England team, which means a fresh start for a team that have had more then their fair share of troubles in the past. There are still many who would write off England in a heartbeat, but can we prove these doubters wrong?



Hodgson must be credited for quickly installing a
winning mentality in to his troops



I wouldn’t blame people for not giving England a chance. Out record in recent competitions have been mediocre, and we now have a bad reputation of choking in International tournaments. Our habit of choking has meant we haven't even reached a final since 1966, and recent tournaments such as World Cup 2010 and failure to qualify for Euro 2008 has compounded their misery. With the 'golden generation' also seeming to pass us by, it can be argued that our squad lacks quality in comparison to those at our disposal in previous major finals. We also find ourselves without some key players such as Gary Cahill, Kyle Walker and Darren Bent, which creates even more doubts over the depth and quality in our ranks.

Others may have become disheartened by Roy Hodgson’s negative style of football. Hodgson likes to play a defensive 4-4-2, with men behind the ball and frequent counter attacks. But this defensive style of football encourages pressure, meaning that the system could backfire at any moment against a stronger outfit or after a lapse of concentration. England were also not thoroughly tested in their group games, with much tougher challenges to come ahead then Sweden, Ukraine and France. Watching England struggle against Ukraine was painful more then anything, and I will forgive you for thinking that a much more superior team would definitely punish us for the mistakes we made.

But is that the case? Ukraine are the tournament co-hosts, and were definitely tricky opponents considering they had the advantage of having a home crowd spurring them on. Sweden also looked hard on paper, with England failing to defeat Sweden in a major competition in their history prior to their crucial triumph in the second group game. In addition to this statistic, Sweden possess world class individual talent in the shape of Zlatan Ibrahimovich, and with these factors combined, coming away with a win was a very good result. France on paper had a much better team then the English, and we put in a very good shift to walk away with a draw against superior opponents. Even if you think that these weren't massive tests, we have proven that we can grind out results against even the toughest of opponents, most evident in the hard fought 1-0 win against the reigning world and European champions, Spain, at Wembley in 2010. Although we didn't excel in an attacking front, we managed to win against the best team in the world using a very similar tactic to the one Roy Hodgson has deployed in these championships, meaning this tactic has the efficiency to potentially lead us to European glory.

Steven Gerrard has been influential in England's
impressive results in the group stages

Despite the negativity that Hodgson's tactics bring, I really like the way in which we have set up. We are very hard to break down, and coupled with our counter attacking threat, these combined ensure that we are a dangerous outfit. The determination and will to win displayed by the whole England side is also very refreshing to see, and Hodgson has to take great credit for installing a determined attitude into the England team. With Gerrard, Parker and Terry all excelling in the group games, if they carry on their rich vein of form, we will prove very difficult to beat. We also have the incredible talent of Rooney up front, and if he manages to live up to his hype, he can undoubtedly win any game for us in a blink of an eye.

England will play on Sunday against a similarly matched Italy on Sunday night. With so little pressure riding on English shoulders for the first tournament in many years, I believe we have the ability to brush aside the Italian threat. This is a new look England team, and I think we have the ability to end our major tournament hoodoo and come away from the tournament having conquered Europe. Although it may not be pretty, Hodgson's style of management suits England to the core, and the results so far have proven that he is doing an exquisite job. He has managed to install a combination of determination and drive into this England team, and he has been rewarded with fantastic results. What we lack in quality, we make up for in unity and spirit, and that's why I believe we may be able to shock the world and prevail over Europe's elite.